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Zhejiang University Professor Asked to Prove “His Mother Is His Mother” for a Medical Insurance Card Transfer

Sina (China News Agency) reported that when Professor Pan Liyong of the Zhejiang University School of Humanities applied for social security card transfer for his mother in order to bring his mother to live with him in Hangzhou, the Cixi Medical Insurance Center asked him to prove that “your mother is (really) your mother.” He was forced to get a notarized certificate as proof from his school. The certificate of proof spread on the Internet and got widespread attention from netizens.

The circulated certificate from the Humanities and Tourism Research Center of Zhejiang University had its official seal. The certificate said,” Professor Pan Liyong is the director of the Philosophy Department at the Humanities School of Zhejiang University. Recently he brought his mother to live with him in Hangzhou. According to the requirement of the relevant departments of your organization, he needs to go through certain formalities for his mother’s social security medical cards to be transferred. This is hereby to prove that PAN Li-yong’s mother, Chen Ai-Lian, is the mother of PAN Li-yong. It is hereby also to prove that the ridiculous practice of “proving that your father is your father,” which Premier Li openly criticized, is indeed still widespread.

Professor Pan said that when he tried to apply for the social security card transfer for his mother, the staff of Cixi Medical Insurance Center insisted that he provide a certificate of relationship with his mother. He had to get the above proof against his will. He then sent a photo of this certificate to his circle of friends. After the relevant departments from Cixi City saw the photo, the United Front Department of Cixi City promptly contacted him. Then the Cixi City Health Insurance Center immediately processed his mother’s social security card transfer.

Source: Sina, December 28, 2017
http://news.sina.com.cn/s/wh/2017-12-27/doc-ifyqcwaq4969339.shtml

CCP Bans Celebration of Foreign Religious Festivals; Asks Children to Swear under Oath and to Topple Christmas Trees

Duowei News reported that, recently, China issued a number of documents demanding that the Party, the government organs, the schools, and other organizations prohibit any participation in activities related to Western religious festivals. A video clip on the Internet showed that China does not just prohibit “Christmas” and “Christmas Eve.” It topples all Christmas trees, and also organizes the students to swear, under oath, that they will not participate in Western festivals. The authorities claim that the move is aimed at strengthening traditional culture and enhancing cultural self-confidence.

Sources:
1. Duowei, December 24, 2017
http://news.dwnews.com/china/news/2017-12-24/60031553.html
2. Duowei, December 24, 2017
http://news.dwnews.com/china/news/2017-12-22/60031188.html

Xinhua: Beware of Japan’s Ambition to Become a Military Power

Zhang Huanli, a scholar at the Research Center for International Affairs and a former reporter for Xinhua News Agency in Tokyo, said in an interview with Xinhua that all sides should pay close attention to how much Japan’s defense budget has grown year after year.

Zhang said that Japan’s military expenditures have been breaking new record highs. In the past, Japan had unwritten rules that its defense budget should be controlled and be within one percent of its GDP. Since Abe came to power, this restriction has long been broken. In addition, this year Japan also added more defense-related funds through supplementary budgets. This means that by the end of 2018 Japan’s actual defense budget will far exceed 5.2 trillion yen.

“Doing so, Japan, on the one hand, wants to cater to the United States. On the other hand, Japan hopes to show the United States its determination to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance by strengthening its cooperation with the United States in the military field.”

Zhang Huanli pointed out that, In the long run, increasing military spending in Japan will pose a threat to the security of the Asia-Pacific region. So far, the Abe administration has not made a sincere apology for the crimes that led to the war of aggression. To make matters worse, ever year, Abe has offered sacrifices to the Yasukuni Shrine. This disguised visit to the Yasukuni Shrine undoubtedly is a form of recognizing the war of aggression. Countries that once suffered Japanese aggression cannot avoid remaining vigilant to how Japan’s military expenditures increase by the year and to its ambition to become a military power.

Source: Xinhua, December 23, 2017
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2017-12/23/c_129773244.htm

BBC Chinese: China Continued Expanding Military Construction in South China Sea

BBC Chinese recently reported that, according to documents that the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published, China continued its expansion of the construction of artificial islands and the military facilities on the islands in the South China Sea. CSIS also released clear satellite photos that show new ammunition depots, aircraft hangars, and radar. The latest equipment effectively made these islands China’s most advanced military bases. For the time being, the facilities are mostly unused; CSIS described them as proof of “slow development of crisis.” It also pointed out that the radar systems are a highlight because they are sufficient enough to monitor “everything in the region.” China dismissed the CSIS “criticism” as “making a big fuss over a minor move,” which was solely for the purpose of self-defense. China also announced that, in 2019, it will launch three optical satellites to establish 24-hour monitoring over the South China Sea.

Source: BBC Chinese, December 19, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-42408674

China News: Saudi Arabia and Israel are Getting Closer to Each Other Publicly

China News, a state owned and internationally oriented Chinese news agency, recently published a commentary on the latest Middle East situation. The article started with the Trump Administration’s official acknowledgement of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The author described the reaction from the Arabic world, saying, “unusually low-key,” and that’s “expected.” The reason is that Saudi Arabia has, publicly, been getting closer and closer to Israel. The two nations have been aligning their actions recently on the world stage, such as aiming against Iran and working together in the UN against Syria. For many years Saudi Arabia has been providing much needed funds to support the Palestinian authority. However, Iran was the one leading a tougher movement against Israel, which is challenging Saudi Arabia’s leadership role in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia’s influence was damaged in dealing with the Yemen rebels and Qatar. The commentator suggested that when Saudi Arabia’s money and resources are combined with Israel’s military power and intelligence, the cooperation between these two nations should be quite effective and decisive. The biggest losers in this new era are the Palestinians.

Source: China News, December 19, 2017
http://www.chinanews.com/gj/2017/12-19/8404041.shtml

China.com: China’s Military Reform Reached Two-Year Anniversary

China.com recently reported that Chinese lawmakers just passed The Regulations of The People’s Liberation Army Civilian Personnel. This new law is considered a major milestone in the now two-year old Military Reform, which started on November 24, 2015, when the Central Military Commission Work Conference for Reform began. The Reform completely restructured the Chinese military with a focus on modernization, efficiency, and scientific optimization of the command structure. The military reorganized the major theaters of operations, established new forces for rockets, strategic missiles, and strategic support, and eliminated over 200 Division level units, over 1000 Group level units, and over 30 percent of the military officers.

Source: China.com, December 18, 2017
http://military.china.com/important/11132797/20171218/31835877.html

Australian Prime Minister: A Total of 10 Political Candidates Closely Associated with Chinese Intelligence

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull emphasized the “Chinese Threat” again when he visited a local community. Turnbull said he was by no means against China since he had been doing business in China for 25 years. However, as the nation’s leader, he asked the Australian people to “stand up.” Turnbull also told the media that the Australian national security services confirmed that, in the past elections, a total of 10 candidates were “closely associated” with Chinese intelligence agencies. At least one of these candidates has already won an election. This is part of a wider Chinese plan to penetrate the Australian parliament. As soon as Turnbull made these comments, the Labor Party immediately accused the current administration of “intentionally leaking national security information,” in order to make the Labor party look bad. The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that the China-Australia relationship is being “poisoned.”

Source: Sina, December 11, 2017
http://www.sina.com.cn/midpage/mobile/index.d.html?docID=fypnqvn2723508&url=news.sina.cn/gj/2017-12-11/detail-ifypnqvn2723508.d.html